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rotorua without shuttle bus access
just curious if anyone has been to rotorua outside of school holidays when the shuttle bus isnt running and can comment on how much climbing there was and if it was difficult to get to the start of the climbs where the shuttle drops off up the top.
thinking of going for a week in early march(only time i can get) but dont want to wreck my first experience there by spending all day riding the road uphill.
any thoughts or assistance would be very much appreciated
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I didn't use the shuttle at all during my two weeks there. If you plan the tracks right you can get some really nice climbing trails. Getting out to Split Enz and the other tracks that are a decent ride from the main Waipa St? carpark is doable and makes the long descent linking different trails even better.
... hills are your friends.
Sure, it's a bit of a slog, but makes the descents even sweeter
To do the best stuff, expect to climb around 1000m vertical in a little over 30km. There's one 'main' way up a fire trail that's easy enough if you stick it in granny and whirrr away. The whole place is up pretty up and down though. Here's a couple of activities from '09 and '11 to give you an idea:
From memory, the shuttle runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays evenings during daylight savings.
All day on weekends, even outside of school holidays.
Don't quote me on that though. Check out Southstar shuttles website.
We woke up late in the mornings and didn't get to the trails until after brunch/lupper.
After the first few ascents and descents and then the shuttle started, which worked out to be great timing cuz we were rooted after a few climbs.
Plus the bonus is you avoid the morning/midday heat...and yes this is the lazy version of mtbing. Quite proud of it actually
some very cheap flights available from Air NZ for the next few days, $159 (one way) is the cheapest option and looks like Easter long weekend isn't blacked out!
http://www.airnewzealand.com.au/new-zealand-on-s...
There are some trails which trend in an upward direction. Down the bottom you've got Tahi and Creek, which are both a Grade 2. Both are fairly cruisy and flowy, but get you a bit higher up the mountain. Afterwards there are others, but nothing really interesting.
The shuttles definitely run on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and on the weekends (at this time of year). Unless you feel like riding up to the pickup point then make sure you're in the car park for the first pickup though!
If you're going to be there for more than a few days I'd definitely recommend that you pace yourself a bit with the climbing. When a friend and I were there recently we went all out for the first 3 days, without the shuttle. By the evening of Day 3, and for the rest of the week we were there, our legs were like jelly on any decent climb. It's feels very embarrassing when you have to get off and walk up some of the smaller hills which you'd normally have no issues with!
Greg
thanks for the advice guys
all booked for 12 march - 19th march cant wait!
plan to ride wed/thurs have friday off to rest then get as much in as possible with the shuttle on the weekend.
i was most concerned to what you experienced rune that i would be wrecked by day 3 if i do to much climbing early. im trying to make hills my friend but they just dont like me
It's really heard to just sit out and have a rest day when there's so much good riding. We decided to take our "rest day" down in Taupo and did the K2K (a fairly new addition to the trails heading around Lake Taupo). Not much of a rest day in the end when we ended up riding for 30k or more!
I don't regret it at all, but make sure you leave your ego and ability to feel embarrassed about needing to walk up hills at home
The rest day needs to be renamed luge day. Make sure you hit it up while you are there and the intermediate track is heaps more fun than the advanced track which from memory was just too short.
Crank up the volume and enjoy, some good spills but nothing as epic as my high side which fortunately wasn't caught on film.
http://youtu.be/WFQvMES8gyo
man going to have to give that a crack
i loved the one a queenstown when i was there